How much agency do we have about how happy we are? Can we simply decide to be happy, regardless of anything else that’s happening in our lives?
Dan Sullivan says we can, and in the Switched ON world, that recommendation means a lot. He’s a business and life coach extraordinaire, with a record of achievement and a list of entrepreneur clients that reads like a rollcall of the rich and famous.
The Switched ON Community holds Dan Sullivan in the very highest regard and when he speaks, we listen.
One of Dan’s most important teachings is about mindsets. In his business coaching, he has an elaborate mindset matrix that describes different types of actual and potential owners. Where people fit on the matrix is a strong indication of how receptive they are to business innovations and improvements.
Dan also believes our personal mindset has the same ability to direct our lives. In this short video from 2016, he tells us we can consciously choose our attitude to life, and that in turn, our attitude colours and focuses our mindset.
He recalls his own epiphany many years ago when he made the deliberate decision to be happy, regardless of the outcome of any experience. Dan says he is responsible for his own happiness and refuses to allow external circumstances to dictate his contentment.
His reward is a happiness mindset which also makes him more enjoyable company.
If all of this seems far-fetched, Dan suggests we try it out for ourselves, first for 24 hours and then for longer. If we’re able to hold our happiness attitude for 21 days, there’s a good chance it will become a habit and we too will develop a happiness mindset.
He makes it sound so simple, and for Dan it probably was easy. My belief is it would be a lot harder for many of us.
We can all easily cite innumerable obstacles that we believe are preventing us from finding true happiness, but for Switched ON members who are enjoying good health and sound finances, are these more excuses than reasons?
For me, the biggest takeaway from Dan Sullivan’s video is the idea that we have far more conscious control over our emotions than we often recognise. Dan calls it his internal decision and his internal capability that becomes more powerful as we practice.
Dan’s happiness mindset translates perfectly for the Switched ON living community. Our mantra for people aged over 50 is ‘Dreaming Big, Living Well and Being Balanced’, and the best way we can achieve these goals is by empowering ourselves against a mediocre, passive retirement.
As for choosing to be happy, maybe it’s the best decision we’ll ever make.
